Brilliant Matterhorn denies Wissahickon in Easter Classic romp at Lingfield

The market suggested the Betway Easter Classic would be something of a procession, but the Mark Johnston-trained Matterhorn defied the odds to turn the tables on 1-3 favourite and runner-up Wissahickon.

The 9-2 shot took up an early prominent position under Joe Fanning, stalking early pacesetter Court House before a devastating turn of foot off the home bend put victory beyond doubt.

Winter Derby winner Wissahickon never looked fully comfortable and found little when Frankie Dettori began to ask questions inside the final two furlongs, eventually finishing seven lengths behind the winner.

Mark Johnston: winning trainerCredit: Getty Images

Fanning said: "It was a lovely performance. We went a good even pace from the off and that really set it up for me. We kicked off the bend early and I knew at that point it was going to take a good one to get past me."

Despite coming into the race as a five-time winner on the all-weather since December, the four-year-old had disappointed on his previous start when finishing seventh of nine in last month's Listed Magnolia Stakes at Kempton.

Johnston, who was enjoying the second leg of double following the victory of Watersmeet earlier in the day, said: "Last time was a diversion from the original plan and this was a much better performance.

"We weren't confident that he would be better at this mile and a quarter and thought long and hard about it, but we had Cardsharp for the Mile and decided we shouldn't run away from one horse."

Get ahead of the game with Get Your Eye In - exclusive Saturday preview content on racingpost.com and the Racing Post mobile app from 2pm on Friday